# frozen humans shattering **URL:** \ **Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports\ **Created:** [February 5, 2010, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frozen-humans-shattering/527781 "2010-02-05T04:39:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Green\_Bean](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_bean/32/1760_2.png) [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2010, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frozen-humans-shattering/527781/21 "2010-02-09T02:46:56Z")
Ohhh. Shattered heads, not reanimated heads! FWIW, I checked and there’s no reason you couldn’t freeze a head in liquid helium, though the handling requirements of the stuff would really complicate matters. It might be much more brittle than a nitrogen-frozen head, though, which could lead to some pretty spectacular shattering. ---
**Author:** ![brendanmcc](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/eb9ed0/32.png) [@brendanmcc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brendanmcc)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2010, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frozen-humans-shattering/527781/22 "2010-02-09T22:41:06Z")
I was a security guard in a hospital twenty fie years ago and was challenged to kill a bat in the hospital. I used a CO2 fire extinguisher to freeze it in midair. The poor bat frooze and broke when it fell to the floor. So…if you were light enough (like a bat) maybe you could be frozen and broken. ---
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2010, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frozen-humans-shattering/527781/23 "2010-02-09T23:12:57Z")
Link to the relevant column [Could you be frozen solid, then broken into a million pieces?](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/2921/could-you-be-frozen-solid-then-broken-into-a-million-pieces) ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2010, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frozen-humans-shattering/527781/24 "2010-02-09T23:14:08Z")
Could we get a better description of what broke? Did the wings fracture bits off? The whole wing break off? Were bones broken, or just soft tissue? ---
**Author:** ![Wheelz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wheelz/32/5718_2.png) [@Wheelz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wheelz)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2010, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frozen-humans-shattering/527781/25 "2010-02-10T17:24:03Z")
> [@Irishman](#): > > Could we get a better description of what broke? Did the wings fracture bits off? The whole wing break off? Were bones broken, or just soft tissue? Yeah, and did you take pictures? That woulda been cool. ---
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2010, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frozen-humans-shattering/527781/26 "2010-02-10T21:15:05Z")
**[Could you be frozen solid, then broken into a million pieces?](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/2921/could-you-be-frozen-solid-then-broken-into-a-million-pieces)** February 5, 2010 > [@](#): > > In 1997 a Worcester Polytechnic student unaccountably decided to put liquid nitrogen in his mouth and blow smoke rings. Problem was, he accidentally swallowed the stuff instead, and the expanding gas blew a hole in his stomach and collapsed a lung. He lost part of part of his stomach and scarred his gastrointestinal tract, but otherwise recovered. In the version of the story I heard, [allegedly told by the student himself](http://www.darwinawards.com/personal/personal2000-25.html), he \*intentionally \*swallowed it–he’d just forgotten that that wasn’t how the trick worked. However, the letter appears to be unverified–a comment on the page by some resident expert points out that our bodies already have a mechanic for releasing expanding gas from our stomachs, or we wouldn’t be able to belch. [This 2000 article](http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/content/abstract/105/1/121) from a medical journal shows that stomach perforation is possible after injesting liquid nitrogen. However, note that it says: “We report a case of a 13-year-old boy who developed gastric perforation after liquid nitrogen ingestion. This is a previously unreported complication.” The author of the letter referenced above, on the other hand, claims to be “the first documented medical case of a cryogenic ingestion” in June of '98 (and, as an undergrad, was almost certainly not 13 at the time). Anybody have any further, verifiable details? ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2010, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frozen-humans-shattering/527781/27 "2010-02-10T22:00:29Z")
In the process of swallowing, one closes the esophagus as the food is passed down to the stomach. It is very difficult to belch while in the act of swallowing. Belching occurs after the swallow is completed and the gastrointestinal tract needs to equalize pressure. Belch occurs with epiglottis and esophagus open. I do not know if a swallow-ful of liquid nitrogen warms fast enough to boil enough to cause that kind of gastrointestinal and lung distress. ---
**Author:** ![John\_W.Kennedy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_w.kennedy/32/1031_2.png) [@John\_W.Kennedy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_W.Kennedy)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2010, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frozen-humans-shattering/527781/28 "2010-02-10T22:25:50Z")
The smaller the critter, the greater the surface-to-volume ratio, and the greater the possibility that this could happen. ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2010, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frozen-humans-shattering/527781/29 "2010-02-10T23:37:19Z")
> [@brendanmcc](#): > > I was a security guard in a hospital twenty fie years ago and was challenged to kill a bat in the hospital. > I used a CO2 fire extinguisher to freeze it in midair. The poor bat frooze and broke when it fell to the floor. > So…if you were light enough (like a bat) maybe you could be frozen and broken. That’s scary. I think it would have still been alive when it hit the floor & bits broke off. ---
**Author:** ![md2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/73ab20/32.png) [@md2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md2000)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2010, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frozen-humans-shattering/527781/30 "2010-02-11T02:35:14Z")
I doubt this. After all, frozen meat doesn’t shatter in my (limited) experience. To create an extreme juxtaposition, toffee will shatter and then the peices stick together while warm. I suspect it has to do with fiberous tissue. there are no simple shatter/fracture lines like with ice, when everything is connected by minute fibers to everything else. Also, considering you can cook something for an hour and it’s still pink inside; I doubt the cold conducts well enough either. You’ll get a crusty hard exterior, and a gooey interior until it’s been cooling for several hours. ---
**Author:** ![Blake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a9a28c/32.png) [@Blake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blake)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2010, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frozen-humans-shattering/527781/31 "2010-02-11T02:40:42Z")
> [@md2000](#): > > I doubt the cold conducts well enough either. :dubious: Do you also close your windows at night to stop the darkness leaking in? ---
**Author:** ![ivn1188](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e480ec/32.png) [@ivn1188](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivn1188)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2010, 8:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frozen-humans-shattering/527781/32 "2010-02-11T08:05:18Z")
> [@Blake](#): > > :dubious: > > Do you also close your windows at night to stop the darkness leaking in? This is a needless nitpick. While cold does not technically conduct, in this context it is perfectly apparent what was meant, and it makes zero difference as to the outcome. ---
**Author:** ![Rico](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rico/32/3582_2.png) [@Rico](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rico)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2010, 8:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frozen-humans-shattering/527781/33 "2010-02-11T08:24:07Z")
\ I merged 4 threads on the same subject. Just in case you noticed a little jumping around in topics here. \ ---
**Author:** ![WarmNPrickly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d78d45/32.png) [@WarmNPrickly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WarmNPrickly)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2010, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frozen-humans-shattering/527781/34 "2010-02-11T12:35:27Z")
> [@ivn1188](#): > > This is a needless nitpick. While cold does not technically conduct, in this context it is perfectly apparent what was meant, and it makes zero difference as to the outcome. It’s not even a valid nitpick since a model where cold is the absence of heat is perfectly functional. There is no reason not to say that cold is conducted. It makes perfect sense. You could probably come up with a similar model for light, but I can’t think of how it would work. ---
**Author:** ![ivn1188](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e480ec/32.png) [@ivn1188](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivn1188)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2010, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frozen-humans-shattering/527781/35 "2010-02-11T21:18:26Z")
> [@WarmNPrickly](#): > > It’s not even a valid nitpick since a model where cold is the absence of heat is perfectly functional. There is no reason not to say that cold is conducted. It makes perfect sense. > > You could probably come up with a similar model for light, but I can’t think of how it would work. I was going to go there, actually, but I recall a similar discussion a while back about cold rays, and it turned a bit hot (excuse the pun). ---
**Author:** ![sich\_hinaufwinden](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c5a1d2/32.png) [@sich\_hinaufwinden](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sich_hinaufwinden)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2010, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frozen-humans-shattering/527781/36 "2010-02-11T21:29:16Z")
> [@WarmNPrickly](#): > > It’s not even a valid nitpick since a model where cold is the absence of heat is perfectly functional. There is no reason not to say that cold is conducted. It makes perfect sense. > > You could probably come up with a similar model for light, but I can’t think of how it would work. Could you explain in a little more detail? Could you come up with a similar model for water in which it flows uphill for instance? I didn’t think this was one of those arbitrary things but I’m willing to be learned something new. ---
**Author:** ![WarmNPrickly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d78d45/32.png) [@WarmNPrickly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WarmNPrickly)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2010, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frozen-humans-shattering/527781/37 "2010-02-12T03:08:37Z")
I don’t think i could come up with a model where water flows uphill, because water doesn’t flow uphill. As far as the hot cold thing goes, it’s just a mater of conservation of energy. You have a hot body and a cold body, in the end they end up at the same temperature. You can say that the hot body gained cold or that it lost heat. We do the same thing with electric current. There is nothing flowing in the direction of current. The electrons are flowing in the opposite direction. If you really press the issue you might say that electron “holes” are moving in the direction of current. ---
**Author:** ![KNO3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ea5d25/32.png) [@KNO3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KNO3)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2010, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frozen-humans-shattering/527781/38 "2010-02-13T02:24:54Z")
Well… here’s more evidence of not shattering… [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/Nkn1z_NwHJ0/hqdefault.jpg "Shooting a Frozen Turkey 1") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nkn1z_NwHJ0) ---
**Author:** ![KNO3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ea5d25/32.png) [@KNO3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KNO3)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2010, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frozen-humans-shattering/527781/39 "2010-02-13T04:23:14Z")
And here’s evidence of shattering… [![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9za-Qosf6Dc) ---
**Author:** ![KNO3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ea5d25/32.png) [@KNO3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KNO3)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2010, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frozen-humans-shattering/527781/40 "2010-02-13T04:51:54Z")
Roach and Liquid Nitrogen equals shatter. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/Eser0M4zO68/hqdefault.jpg "Roach Meets Liquid Nitrogen") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eser0M4zO68) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frozen-humans-shattering/527781.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frozen-humans-shattering/527781.md?page=3)